Velvet Revolver Almost Has A New Singer

Velvet Revolver is getting closer to a return from its hiatus. The hard rock band isn’t naming any names yet but drummer Matt Sorum says the group may have found a replacement for Scott Weiland.

Along with Sorum, Velvet Revolver features fellow former Guns N’ Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan, in addition to Dave Kushner, former member of Wasted Youth.

Weiland’s departure from the band was officially announced in April 2008. The band last performed together April 1, 2008, in Amsterdam.

Slash let fans knows the band was auditioning singers earlier this month through a post on his Twitter account. The Dec. 6 tweet added that the auditions “[promise] to be very interesting.”

According to an interview Sorum recently gave with The Pulse of Radio, the auditions were a success.

“We got somebody that we’re really liking a lot,” he said, according to an audio clip that was posted on Blabbermouth.net. “We can’t make the announcement yet because we’re ‘dating,’ you know. We haven’t consummated the relationship. We haven’t sat down this gentleman and made the agreement together, but we’re very excited and I think this could be a real turning point for the band.”

Sorum acknowledged that the band has kept fans hanging for quite some time.

“And I know it’s been like this long-winded ‘Oh, Velvet Revolver this, Velvet Revolver that.’ You know – we’re tired of it, believe me. But we don’t have the ability to just jump out there with any singer. We can’t do it.”

According to Blabbermounth.net, Sorum described the potential singer as a “known guy” who was “younger and stronger.”

Various music sites have reported that the potential singer could be Scars on Broadway’s Frankie Perez, Spacehog’s Royston Langdon or Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy. NME.com noted that Kennedy has toured with Slash’s live band for the past two years.